1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to apparatus for ejecting a film cassette at least part way out of a cassette receiving chamber located in the body of a camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,914, issued Sep. 17, 1991, discloses a photographic camera comprising a camera body with a loading chamber for receiving a film cassette endwise, i.e. axially, a door supported for pivotal closing and opening movement to cover and uncover the chamber, latching means for preventing pivotal opening movement of the door but which can be disabled to permit the door to be opened, and ejecting means for pushing the cassette endwise at least part way out of the chamber when the door is opened. Specifically, the ejecting means includes an over-center linkage that first is shifted to slightly beyond a centered position, without moving a film cassette in the chamber, responsive to the door being opened manually a limited amount, and then by virtue of its construction shifts itself further from its centered position (without having to continue to manually open the door) to automatically further open the door and push the cassette at least part way out of the chamber.
3. Problem to be Solved by the Invention
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,914, the latching means must be disabled manually before the door can be opened.